


Freestyle Instruction

by kaghani



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Swimming, F/F, cute af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6115789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaghani/pseuds/kaghani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra is a competitive swimmer and an informal instructor for her little cousins. They'll do anything to get out of lessons sometimes, and today, there's a girl in the next lane that Korra might have had her eye on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freestyle Instruction

**Author's Note:**

> Some kind of Modern AU where Jinora and Ikki get to be Korra's wing-women, all annoying and embarrassing like they were about Mako in Book 1 :) 
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> EDIT: I saw a missed opportunity. When Asami meets Mako, she says that "I'm so embarrassed" line and so I just had to put that in there!

The girl in the lane next to Korra and the kids has horrible form. That isn’t to say she doesn’t have great athletic potential – her kicks are powerful, and she’d once made it halfway through the lane before lifting her head to take a breath.

But her feet don’t flex right in the breaststroke kick, and the way she moves her shoulders during her backstroke is all wrong. And if she manages her breaths better during freestyle, she could at least cut her time by a quarter of what it is.

“Korra?” Ikki chirps, dropping her treading exercise to hang on to the wall. She shoves a stray lock of hair back into her flowery swimming cap, raises her head to look up at Korra, pointing her thumb in the girl’s direction. “Why are you staring at her?”

Korra sputters, honest-to-goodness _sputters_. It’s never happened to her before. “What – I – what. Are. You – I’m…Ikki! Get back – that’s another minute of treading water for you!”

But at this point, Ikki’s sister and brother have ditched their lesson, as well. It’s sometimes difficult for Korra to get them to listen to her as their swimming instructor – to them, she’s their Cousin Korra who gives them piggyback rides everywhere, shows them new wrestling moves, and helps them sneak around their parents to stay up late and eat junk food.

Treading, in particular, tends to bore them to death, and they take any distraction they can get their hands on. Watching the girl in the next lane? Korra’d pretty much set herself up this time.

Not that Korra’s been _watching_ , per se; observing the next person is a habit drilled into competitive swimmers.

“Do you know her, Korra?” Jinora asks.

Her fingers twitch near the rubber cap, and Korra knows she’d better do something quick to get them swimming again; when Jinora’s cap comes off, class is pretty much over. Jinora doesn’t put it back on herself, and she whines about getting her hair pulled if Korra tries to put it on. If Korra decides she doesn’t want the grief and lets Jinora off for the rest of the day, Ikki and Meelo complain for the rest of the hour about how unfair it is that Jinora gets a free pass.

That Jinora is one of the more diabolical sixth-graders Korra’s known.

Korra sighs. “No, I don’t know her. And we’re not leaving here until we get another forty-five seconds of treading in. I’ll tell you what – if you tread like a bunch of good kids, I’ll play with the noodles with you. We can joust,” she offers with a smile.

Right at that moment, the girl in the next lane reaches their end, lifts herself up to sit on the edge. She removes her goggles to adjust them, and her jade-green eyes reflect beautifully in the lighting.

Korra hears a throat clearing. She casts A Look at Jinora, who returns the expression.

“Get back out there and start treading, guys. Come on.”

“Korra,” Jinora says, beckoning her close with her hand.  

Korra sighs and crouches down to their level. Jinora’s brother and sister huddle around her. “What?”

“Ask her if she needs a teacher!” Jinora whispers.

“Ooh! You should teach her!” Ikki squeals, bouncing around as best she can. Her feet only just touch the bottom of the three-and-a-half-foot end, and the floatee tied around her waist makes it that much harder.

“Yeah, teach her, Korra!” Meelo exclaims.

“Shhh! Guys!” Korra hisses. She glances back at the girl – who, now, had gotten back in the pool. She’s practicing her kicks, and _god_ , does Korra want to tell her to keep her toes pointed…“Why – why would I ask her that?”

“Because you can help her kick better.” Jinora says, crossing her arms, smiling slyly. “Come on, Korra. You know you want to help her swim better. You’re the _expert_.”

Korra chuckles. “Nice try, small fry. Treading. _Now_.”

Jinora rolls her eyes and pushes off the wall…and then ducks under the divider, approaches the girl with the pretty green eyes and the terrible form.

“Jinora! Get back here now!” Korra calls weakly, but it’s too late. The girl’s already noticed her, and lifts her goggles again.

“Excuse me,” Jinora says. She lifts a hand to gesture at Korra. “But my cousin Korra is a Junior Olympic swimmer. She holds a couple of records, actually.”

“Oh?” the girl says.

Korra’s entire chest-neck-face area _burns_ uncomfortably. She resists the urge to dunk her head and maybe her entire torso into the water.

“Yes, and she’d like to help you with your kicking, if you’d –”

“Alright!” Korra holds her forehead for a moment, taking a deep breath. These kids and their knack for getting her into these situations… She walks over to the girl. “I’m…sorry to disturb you. My cousins here are trying to get out of treading and, as you can see, they’ll do anything.”

The girl giggles. It’s not _musical_ …but it’s kind of musical. “That’s okay. Are you really a Junior Olympic swimmer?”

Korra feels the blush blooming across her cheeks again. “I was.”

“Korra’s going to be in the Olympics this year!” Ikki and Meelo, during the exchange, had made it over to this lane. “We’re going to Rio to see Korra swim!”

“We’re going to Rio!” Meelo says, trying to kick and move, but the floatees are too restrictive.

“Seriously?” the girl asks. Her eyes sparkle excitedly.

“Yeah.” Korra smiles, tries to think of something else to say, and doesn’t. Recently, she’s been learning to take it easy on the gloating. “Yeah,” she repeats.

“Wow.” The girl rests her chin on her hand. She gazes admiringly at Korra – Korra is not unused to the attention, but there’s something so genuine about this girl. It makes Korra’s pulse quicken. “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I just made it through some qualifying trials, so…I’m going to Rio.”

Unexpectedly, the girl ducks her chin into her chest and grins shyly. Her cheeks and ears turn faintly the color of strawberries. "I'm a little embarrassed...you must have noticed I don't have Olympic-level training, or anything." 

"Oh! Don't be, I'm just used to critiquing others, you know?"

"And your cousin here says you can help me kick better." She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side. Her eyelashes are so perfectly curled, Korra bets she's wearing waterproof mascara. 

"Look, I only meant that…you have great power, and if you wanted, I could show you how to flex your feet.” Korra does a standing demonstration of the breastroke kick with one foot. She cracks a hopeful smile, and when the girl returns it, she smiles wider. “But these small fries are in the middle of a lesson. They were in the middle of _treading_.”

“Korra…” Jinora whines.

“Treading…” The girl taps her chin. It’s kinda cute. She looks back up at Korra and _winks_. “I could use a little practice, myself.”

Korra grins. “Seriously?”

The girl shrugs, eyes locked on Korras. She kicks back off the wall and starts treading. “I’m Asami, by the way.”

“I’m Korra.”

“Your cousin mentioned that.”

“Korra, the deal is still on,” Jinora declares, but it’s less whiney than it is sly, Korra notices. “Forty-five seconds of treading, and then you’re noodle jousting with us.”

“Noodle jousting? That sounds like fun.” Asami smiles, and Korra thinks that she just might love her little sixth-grader cousin’s diabolical qualities, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
